Nichols Nicola

Stranded in Wolf Crossing, with the stage not running because of bandits, Little Jill hitches a ride with a liquor drummer, who is happy to swap sex for transportation. When she arrives in Lizard Creek intent on finding out what happened to her husband, she introduces herself as Little Jill. After all, George Emerson, who owns the store here, had her at a party in Wolf Crossing. She is also working with Bart, a bounty hunter, tracking down three outlaws she met in Wolf Crossing. She knows they are connected to George Emerson.  She finds the town is run by two men, George and the man who owns the hotel and saloon, Bill Williams. And despite the town being bankrupt, there is a deadly struggle for power. Husband Dave inadvertently got involved and now Jill uses her smarts, her body, and her friends to unravel the secrets of the town.  In the process, she firmly lays claim to her new life as a western whore. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ The next morning, I went to the bank and met Otto. He was a small man with a nervous pinched face that made him look judgmental, but as I talked to him, I realized it was just uncertainty. He listened as I told him the story of my mythical friend who asked me to check on her husband.  I don’t know if he bought it, but he pretended to be sympathetic. “What can I tell you?” “I need your help. I have no idea where to start looking,” I said. “It’s a big territory.” He nodded. “Finding one claim… there are many, many claims to sort through.” “I don’t mind going through them.” He looked shocked. “I can’t let you have access to county records. The most I could do is offer to do a title search.” He looked up. “I’d have to do that on my own time, you understand.” “I’d be grateful if you could,” I said. A light glimmered in his eye. “I am a very busy man.” I took out a piece of paper and showed it to him. I’d written down Dave’s name and the approximate date when he would have filed his claim. “This is what I know. I’d be glad to compensate you for your time if you could locate any information.” “Are you offering a county official a bribe?” “Of course not. I was offering you compensation for your time… your free time.” He shook his head. “A county official can’t take money for a personal service.” I walked around his desk, moving closer and smiling at him. Karla had told me he was a widower with a son, but he never came to the saloon. “I’m not sure what that man does to get satisfaction,” she said. Now, I sat on his desk and smiled my most charming smile. “I really gave my word to this woman that I would do whatever I could to find her husband, and I seem to be at a dead end.” “I’m sorry,” he said, unable to take his eyes off my breasts. “Perhaps you have an idea. I’m not worldly the way you are, sir, and your advice would mean so much to me. Seeing as you could do this task, as a favor to a friend — I know it is a lot to ask.” I pretended to wrack my brain. “Well, is it possible, do you think an exchange of favors might be more appropriate?” He swallowed. “It could be.” “We could arrange to be very discreet about the exchange.” “It would have to be… discreet.” I let my dangling leg brush his. “And I understand a man in your position, well, I imagine that people must constantly be trying to take advantage of you.” “Yes. They think they can demand anything. Anything at all, as if my time is not my own.” “If you agreed to do me this favor, I would hate to think of that worry in your mind, troubling. I mean, you don’t know me, and have no guarantee that I’d provide the kind of favor that your effort would be worth.” “That’s always a concern,” he said. I put the paper in his vest pocket and stroked his face. “If you have a back room where we could have some privacy, I’d be delighted to give you a little taste of what I am willing to provide you in return for this great favor.” His pulse was racing. “I’ll put out the closed sign.” He went to the door and put up a hand-lettered “OUT TO LUNCH”

Arriving in Santa Fe with Maria and Carmen, Jill connects with Jake. He introduces her to his world—taking advantage of the boom brought by the new railroad by catering to the sexual desires of the traveling businessmen. Soon they are all at work, whoring at the hotel and doing special events, such as putting on a sex show with Lis at a local cathouse. Through it, she learns that Santa Fe is still something of a backwater. The boom will fade once the scramble for contracts spurred by railroad money is over.  Lis is disillusioned with Jake, who acts more as her pimp.  When she starts meeting special clients, sent by the ambitious Gina, Jill learns the woman wants to become a major influence by satisfying the secret lusts of politicians. In many cases, the profit Gina envisions is murkier than just money. She is more interested in the leverage that favors, and secrets offer. When Warren Lewis shows up from Chicago, he’s got work for her too, and his newest ideas are even more dramatic. He wants her to seduce a man who is evaluating contract bids. There is specific information the man has he wants. If Jill does what Warren wants, it opens new doors. It will change both how and where she works. But no matter what she chooses, her path doesn’t alter one fact: she remains a western whore. And to Little Jill, that’s a good thing. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ As the stage rolled down the dusty streets of Santa Fe, my first look at the city made my heart sink a little. The Spanish architecture was lovely, but the city looked disappointingly sleepy. The streets were dirt and a few prosperous looking businesses lining them were mixed in with hovels and shabby bodegas.  Santa Fe was supposed to be a city, and after all the bright things Jake and Lis had told me about the city, I’d let myself expect far too much. I’d expected Santa Fe to be more like the cities I’d seen back east. Thinking of coming here to work with my friends, knowing they were special and were boosters of this city, made me assume the place would have an elegance.  The truth was, Santa Fe was an important crossroad, but otherwise just another western town. On top of that, all three of us felt a little lightheaded as the stage pulled in. The driver had warned us that this city was at high altitude. “Higher than Denver,” he said. “Over seven thousand feet.” Carmen and Maria, the Mexican girls who had decided to move to Santa Fe with me, were delighted with what they saw. As we passed a fancy saloon, Carmen leaned out and took a good look. “Nice place,” she said. “I already like this place more than Wolf Crossing.” “And forget about Lizard Creek,” Maria added, laughing. I saw her point. This saloon was a giant step up from the saloons in both places, and there were more potential clients, people of means walking the streets. The three of us were whores, so that mattered. Nicer places to meet clients and more clients who were more than ranch hands. “This is too delicious!” Those were Jake’s welcoming words when he saw us getting off the stage. His voice sounded sweet to my ears. “It’s great to be here,” I told him.  His eyes smiled when I made the introductions. “A sister act?” he said, sounding hopeful. I nodded. “Separate or together, they are ready to go.”  That made his eyes sparkle, and he wasn’t the only one happy with the introductions. Carmen, wide-eyed, brushed her body up against Jake and looked up at his shoulder-length hair. “You didn’t tell us how good looking your friend Jake is,” she said. I laughed. “Of course not. If I’d told you that, you’d have been screaming at the driver to go faster for the whole trip.” “Jill said you have work for us,” Maria said. “Good pay for hot fucking?” He looked her up and down. “Oh, hell yes.” Jake and his wife Lis were in the same line of work we were in, but they had an actual business—offering high-end sexual entertainments for a select and wealthy clientele. They’d been returning to Santa Fe when I was first headed west. We m